SEALS meets annually to hold an international conference and business meeting. The 2026 meeting will be hosted by Nanyang Technological University (Singapore). Details, including the call for abstracts, will be posted at a later date.

SEALS STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

1. The Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (SEALS, also the Society) is formed for the purpose of facilitating and promoting contact and communication among scholars and students of Southeast Asian Linguistics, and for the dissemination of their scholarly works.

2. The members of the Society advocate the documentation, study, analysis, teaching and maintenance of Southeast Asian Languages.

3. To these ends, the Society undertakes:

a) to hold international meetings, normally annually, and in a manner that provides reasonable opportunity for scholars and students from Southeast Asia to participate,

b) to publish a journal, and such other publications and communications as deemed appropriate, in order to provide opportunity for the presentation of scholarly research and documentation on Southeast Asian Languages,

c) to maintain a website as a point of contact and information,

d) to maintain appropriate academic standards in meetings and publications, principally by means of peer review of papers and abstracts.

4. The Society values inclusivity and political neutrality and expects that the content of conference presentations and journal articles reflect this spirit.

5. The Society accepts as members those persons who, in good faith, endorse this statement of purpose.

SEALS ORIGINS AND HISTORY

• The Southeast Asian Linguistics Society was founded by Martha Ratliff and Eric Schiller (who had the idea while car-pooling to work) in 1990.  The first meeting took place in 1991 at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and was attended by (among others) Paul Benedict, William Gedney, Gerard Diffloth, James Matisoff, Laurent Sagart, Jerry Edmondson, and Graham Thurgood.  Annual publication of the SEALS Conference proceedings was assumed by Arizona State University the next year.

• The SEALS conference regularly circumnavigates the globe, and has met in Southeast Asia, the United States, Europe and Australia.  It is generally expected to meet in Asia at least every other year.

  • 1991 North America (USA, Detroit, Michigan) 

  • 1992 North America (USA, Phoenix, Arizona) 

  • 1993 Pacific (USA, Honolulu, Hawaii) 

  • 1994 Asia (Thailand, Bangkok & Chiang Rai) 

  • 1995 North America (USA, Tucson, Arizona) 

  • 1996 North America (USA, Eugene, Oregon) 

  • 1997 North America (USA, Urbana, Illinois) 

  • 1998 Asia (Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur) 

  • 1999 North America (USA, Berkeley, California) 

  • 2000 North America (USA, Madison, Wisconsin) 

  • 2001 Asia (Thailand, Bangkok) 

  • 2002 North America (USA, DeKalb, Illinois) 

  • 2003 North America (USA, Los Angeles, California) 

  • 2004 Asia (Thailand, Bangkok) 

  • 2005 Australia (Australia, Canberra)

  • 2006 Asia (Indonesia, Jakarta) 

  • 2007 North America (USA, College Park, Maryland) 

  • 2008 Asia (Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur) 

  • 2009 Asia (Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City) 

  • 2010 Europe (Zurich, Switzerland) 

  • 2011 Asia (Bangkok, Thailand) 

  • 2012 Europe (Agay, France) 

  • 2013 Asia (Bangkok, Thailand) 

  • 2014 Asia (Yangon, Myanmar) 

  • 2015 Asia (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

  • 2016 Asia (Padang, Indonesia)

  • 2017 Asia (Manila, Philippines)

  • 2018 Asia (Kaohsiung , Taiwan)

  • 2019 Asia (Tokyo, Japan)

  • 2020 (slated for Hawaii, but cancelled due to COVID19)

  • 2021 (pre-recorded video talks only due to COVID19)

  • 2022 Pacific (USA, Honolulu, Hawaii)

  • 2023 Asia (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

  • 2024 Asia (Taipei, Taiwan)